Driver license in Taiwan

In Taiwan, driver licenses (駕駛執照) are issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to a qualified motor vehicle driver. The number of the driver license in Taiwan is the same as the ID number of the license holder's household registration in Taiwan. In Taiwan, the driver license sometimes accepted as a valid identity document, since the information on a driver license replicates most of those on a National Identification Card.

Driver license
Traditional Chinese	駕駛執照
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiàshǐ Zhízhào Wade–Giles Chia⁴-shih³ Chih²-chao⁴ Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Ka-sṳ́ Chṳp-cheu Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kà-sú Chip-chiàu Tâi-lô Kà-sú Tsip-tsiàu
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	駕照
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiàzhào Wade–Giles Chia⁴-chao⁴ Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Ka-cheu Southern Min Hokkien POJ Kà-chiàu Tâi-lô Kà-tsiàu

Format

Front and backside of a Taiwanese driver license

The driver licenses in Taiwan are only issued in Chinese. For comparison purposes the table below is shown in bilingual form.

中　　華　　民　　國 Republic of China (Taiwan) 交通部制發汽車駕駛執照 Driver license					照片 Photo
駕照號碼 License No.	A000000000		性別 Sex	◯
姓名 Name	◯◯◯◯◯
出生日期 Date of birth	YYY.MM.DD	駕照種類 Type	◯◯◯◯◯◯			持照條件 Condition	X
住址 Address	◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯
有效日期 Date of expiry	YYY.MM.DD		管轄編號 Control No.	8000000000000
發照日期 Date of issue	YYY.MM.DD		審驗日期 Date of inspection	YYY.MM.DD

Notes:

• License Number is identical to the National Identification Number.
• All dates are written in Republic of China calendar, the year is in three(3) digit format.
• Conditions:
  • A – Unlimited
  • B – Automatic transmission cars only
  • C – Other conditions on reverse side
• Date of expiry: Since July 2013, all the license are valid until the holder's 75th birthday. A citizen who is elder than 75 has to renew their driver license every 3 years.
• Date of issue: the date that the holder passed the driver test of the type
• Date of Inspection: date for raking driver's physical examination, for commercial driver's license only.

Categories

Taiwan International driver Permit

Driver licenses are categorized pursuant to the Road Traffic Security Rules (道路交通安全規則) in Taiwan. These 15 categories are:

Ordinary automobiles				Business automobiles				Motorcycles
No.	Name	Chinese		No.	Name	Chinese		No.	Name	Chinese
1	Driver license of ordinary light vehicle	小型車普通 駕駛執照		5	Driver license of business light vehicle	小型車職業 駕駛執照		11	Driver license of small light-duty motorcycle	小型輕型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照
2	Driver license of ordinary large truck	大貨車普通 駕駛執照		6	Driver license of business large truck	大貨車職業 駕駛執照		12	Driver license of ordinary light-duty motorcycle	普通輕型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照
3	Driver license of ordinary large passenger vehicle	大客車普通 駕駛執照		7	Driver license of business large passenger vehicle	大客車職業 駕駛執照		14	Driver license of ordinary heavy-duty motorcycle	普通重型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照
4	Driver license of ordinary container truck	聯結車普通 駕駛執照		8	Driver license of business container truck	聯結車職業 駕駛執照		15	Driver license of large heavy-duty motorcycle	大型重型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照

• 9. International Driving Permit (國際駕駛執照): A multilingual translation a Taiwanese license for international use, issued after Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968. As the Republic of China has lost diplomatic relations with most countries since the 1970s, certain countries do not honour international driver permits from Taiwan.
• 10. driver license of light-duty motorcycle (輕型機器腳踏車駕駛執照): Formerly used, now splits into 11 and 12.
• 13. driver license of heavy-duty motorcycle (重型機器腳踏車駕駛執照): Formerly used, now splits into 14 and 15.

Licenses and Motor vehicles

Type	Vehicle		Definition	Licenses allowed to drive
				1, 5	2, 6	3, 7	4, 8	11	12	14	15
Auto- mobiles	Light vehicle	小型車	Motor vehicles having a permissible maximum weight not exceeding 3,500 kg and not more than nine seats including the driver's seat.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
	Large truck	大貨車	Motor vehicles used for the carriage of goods and whose permissible maximum weight exceeds 3,500 kg.	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
	Large passenger vehicle	大客車	Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having ten seats or more including the driver's seat, e.g. city bus, tour bus.	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
	Container truck	聯結車	Tractor coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds 750 kg, e.g. Link Truck, Tractor-Full Trailer, Tractor-Semi Trailer.	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Motor- cycles	Small light-duty motorcycle	小型輕型 機器腳踏車	Electric motorcycles with power not exceeding 1.34 HP.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Ordinary light-duty motorcycle	普通輕型 機器腳踏車	Motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 50 cm³, or electric motorcycles with power between 1.34 HP and 5 HP.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Ordinary heavy-duty motorcycle	普通重型 機器腳踏車	Motorcycles with a cubic capacity between 50 cm³ and 250 cm³, or with power between 5 HP and 40 HP.	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
	Large heavy-duty motorcycle	大型重型 機器腳踏車	Motorcycles with a cubic capacity exceeding 250 cm³, or with power over 40 HP.	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes

Driving tests

The minimum age pursuant to Article 60 is normally 18, but one must be at least 20 to get a professional license or a license for an ultra-heavy motorcycle. A professional license must be converted to an ordinary one at 60 years old, but a professional small vehicle driver may keep the license until they are 65 years old when passing annual physical examinations. Since driver jobs are not open to foreigners, foreigners cannot get professional driver licenses.